Pregnancy

The first trimester went pretty well other than food aversions and tiredness, I have no complaints. We have gotten ultrasounds about every two weeks so its been nice to see the progress and has helped ease our anxiety about the health of the baby. Just came into our second trimester and we thought the big worry of M was gone… Last Friday night I stood up from the couch to find blood pouring out of me. I was sure this was the worst case scenario. We went and got mom, called our OB and headed to the ER. My OB came in, kicked the ER doctor out and was right on top of things. Turns out I have early placenta previa where my placenta is partially covering my cervix. This is normally diagnosed later in pregnancy. There is good and bad, because I am early, it could work itself out (praying for this without any other incidents) – if it doesn’t it could mean preterm labor and C-section. Not concerned about a C-section, but the preterm labor scares the crap out of me. I am on pelvic rest for a while, they are unable to tell me how long. We are going to the OB every 2 weeks now, I cannot lift over a gallon of milk, no sexual activity and basic walking. I am following the doctor’s orders the best I can, we worked too hard for this little blessing!!

We're PREGNANT!!!

Hi Everyone! I apologize for my lack of updates, its been a crazy ride and we have been awful busy trying to enjoy it! All of you know by now that we FINALLY got the news we waited so long to hear! WE’RE PREGNANT!!! It is kind of a funny story of how we found out… Jay took the afternoon off because we wanted to be together when we got the results of our blood pregnancy, so I asked the doctors to call after 12:30pm on that January day. Well, I was just getting ready to head out the door to go pick Jay up and I got a message from Susie with a thumbs up. My heart immediately started racing!! So I asked her to clarify… I WAS PREGNANT!!! OMG OMG OMG at this point I was crying so hard I couldn’t ready my phone!! The words I have waited for, for so long!!! Ok so then I had to pull myself together for the drive to get Jay. On the way I was asking myself should I tell him or just wait for the doctor to call?! Well I decided I wanted to tell him so I stopped at Wal-Mart on my way to pick him up and got him a card. I always do random cards for Jay so I knew it wouldn’t throw him off… I placed it above the visor of the car knowing her would take it down and be nosey once he got in the car. He opened it… I was driving… Instead of “OMG” “Really” or something else I was imagining he says “You already know?!?!?!!” I pulled the car over and started to cry again! Then we just soaked in the moment, part of us in disbelief that this was finally happening for us. We pull into Wal-Mart and wait for the doctor’s office to call… Of course we needed to act surprised (which was awkward) but we did, and all was well! As we prepared to go into the store to get little items to tell our immediate families, doesn’t Jay’s sister walk by our car window! What are the odds, middle of the day!!! Jay instantly jumped at the chance to tell her, and so we did!! We then drove to Warren to tell my sister because supposedly she was home sick today. We get there and no one is in sight. What the heck!? So I called her and told her Uncle Andy and I came to visit thinking that she was home… well turns out she was in Barre. Ok, so we left the little onesie there and later face timed. We get home to tell my parents and mom went to the bar! So we tell dad. Mom will have to wait. We move on to his parents and his mom is MIA too! At the hockey rink! What the heck is going on here, no one is where we want them today!!!!!!!! All was well, we ended up telling them all and of course they were elated!

Pictures from FET #2

FET #2 Done!

We had another incredible experience with transfer #2 yesterday (01/20/16). The embryo was BEAUTIFUL! It was starting to hatch too which is excellent because "a healthy blastocyst often begins hatching from its outer shell between day 5 and 7. Within 24 hours after hatching, embryo implantation begins as the embryo invades into the uterine lining." That is what we are shooting for!!! I created this embryo comparison from transfer 1 to 2... there is quite a difference.

The process was the same, only this time it was Dr. Casson doing the transfer and a male embryologist preparing the embryo for transfer. Everyone (as usual) were great! Dr. Casson is quite the comedian! He was telling us how his daughter just switched to vegan and how she "went to the dark side" and then started cracking vegan jokes! We were all laughing!! The transfer went really well and now the 2 week wait begins (again). Keep us in your prayers. Pictures to follow in next post!

Clinging to HOPE

Here we go! Round two IVF Frozen Embryo transfer has arrived! We are again filled with many emotions from fear and anxiety to hope and excitement. We know our time is coming and we are hoping that today is the start of that! Thanks for the messages, its comforting to us knowing we have so much love and support surrounding us!

2nd Transfer coming up!

Hi All, some may know this about me but I rely on inspirational quotes and positive energy to push forward when I am feeling stuck in a rut. What happened last month is no exception. I came across this quote yesterday that I felt was the perfect dictation of mine and Jay's story... "Be stubborn about your goals, and flexible about your methods." I love it! After years of trying to control the shit out of everything in my life, I finally gave in and since then I have taken a lot of pressure off my shoulders. I have learned to bend and flex and roll with the punches and it is absolutely the most important coping mechanism I have learned to adapt to!!! With that said and in the interest of pushing on, we have our second IVF transfer on January 19th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WISH US LUCK!!!!!! Not that I am getting my hopes up or anything but I would love to take belly pics with my best buddy! :)

The excitement didn't last...

So our hope was to be able to surprise our families and close friends on Christmas day with GOOD news. We went Christmas Eve morning for a blood pregnancy test. While we waited we did some last minute Christmas shopping to occupy our minds. My phone rang and our stomachs dropped. Hoping for the best, I could tell from the tone of Dr. C's voice that we weren't going to like what he was about to say. In his words "well you are pregnant but not really... I have to be honest Jennifer its not looking good." He went on to explain that yes the embryo implanted into my uterine lining however he suspected based on the low levels of HCG that it was a biochemical pregnancy and that it detached aka an early miscarriage. This is actually quite common but many women don't know it happened and by the time their period is late any trace of HCG is gone. Unfortunately because we are doing IVF and monitoring everything so closely we were made aware of this heartbreak. We went back the day after Christmas for more blood and my levels declined and he was able to confirm it. It was a tough blow... but we are believing that everything happens for a reason and our time WILL come.

The embryo transfer

Today, December 15, 2015, We had the most incredible experience as we went in for a single embryo transfer (sorry twin wishers)!

Going into today, we had NO idea what was going to happen. I have been a google maniac and I must not have been using the proper search terms! HAHA Much to our surprise, we both had to gear up and head into the surgical room! With a full bladder, it was SO uncomfortable but then Susie put our little embryo up on the screen and my mind just went blank for a moment. I felt like I was in a dream! The doctor and nurses said look it’s your baby! How cool was this? Both Jay and I couldn’t look away, it was just amazing! How many people get to see their baby in its earliest form? No matter how long the road has been, this was such a rewarding and special moment for us! The nurse said “you have a text book perfect little guy ready to implant!” Of course Jay honed in on the BOY part lol!!! The doctor and Sue continued to emphasize that this is a picture perfect embryo, strong, healthy and favorable! Well here he/she is!!!!

The process was a lot! My legs spread eagle for all to see! A lot of cleaning of the area and preparing it for insertion! My uterine lining is great!!! Over 10mm! It is ready for implantation! We got to watch on the ultrasound as Dr. Murray inserted the embryo through a catheter into my uterus and released it there. See the little white mike and ike shaped thing on the ultrasound below? That is where it is!!!! Our babies first official ultrasound!

Laid in recovery for a half hour after and resumed my day as normal. Day 10 after transfer would be Christmas… they gave us the option to do blood pregnancy the day before but we opted not to and will find out on the 26th (day after Christmas) instead!

12/15/15 Preparing for our first embryo transfer...

Side note: I had written the next couple posts on the days they actually occurred.

We have known for about a week now that we were going in for our first embryo transfer! We fibbed a little and told those closest to us following our journey that nothing was happening until January! Our hope is to have a new year’s surprise to share with them! Here is a glimpse of our excitement!

HolidAZE

Well our total frozen embryo count is 6! We are hoping for embryo transfer towards the end of January! Thank goodness its the holiday season as I feel like time will zoom on by! Thanks for hanging in there!

FREEZE!

As winter is upon us, normally I hate the word FREEZE but this morning it was welcomed and we are beyond thrilled! From NRM: "Good morning, the lab is freezing 5 beautiful embryos for you today. One embryo degenerated overnight, so they have 3 more in culture for potential freeze tomorrow."

Funny fact...

Did you know that at the instant of fertilization, a baby's genes and sex are set?

Retrieval, Recovery and RESULTS!

What a whirlwind these past two weeks have been! Saturday I was a nervous wreck! Not to mention I had lower abdominal pain (to be expected) from my swollen ovaries and I just was not pleasant to be around. Thankfully my sister and husband are patient with me! Sunday morning was even worse! I felt like an elephant was sitting on my uterus! We head to NRM and as usual we are greeted with the finest people in reproductive medicine (in our opinion)! I go back to pre-op, change into my sexy gown; the socks they give you are awesome by the way!!! Jay has extreme ADD and was driving me nuts fidgeting lol! Anyhow, Susie Obrien works there as an embryologist… I have known her all my life as I was best friends with her niece. To say it was such a relief knowing the fate of our future child was in her loving hands is an understatement. I was holding it together emotionally until she came out to wish us good luck and said she had been emotional all morning. YUP then I lost it. I was just a hot mess! So we walk to the operating room and that’s about all I remember… I was OUT! Came out after what felt like 5 minutes and Jay said I was a hot mess again lol! Then the words “you had 17 eggs” were music to our ears. We were ecstatic!!!! Especially since I was having horror thoughts the night before! OMG this was the best news we have had in a while!!! They send us home after I eat a little something, drink and pee! First stop… DUNKS of course!!! Hubby brought me home and tucked me in and there I layed the rest of the day! Now we were waiting for the call to see how many were fertilized (his sperm injected and received by an egg). Ready for it??!!!................. Of the 17 eggs, 12 were mature and injected and of those 9 were FERTILIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No words to describe how happy this news made us!! If I could have jumped I would have but instead I just shared my news and cried and cried and cried tears of happiness!!! We are day 2 after retrieval and the fertilized eggs will continue to grow for 5 days total before they are froze. Fingers crossed most continue to split until day 5! Thank you all for the texts, calls, messages, etc. You don’t know how much your support means to us!!

IVF Date & Time Confirmed!!! Here we go.....

We got word this morning that the retrieval procedure will be Sunday morning at 8:30 - we have to be there at 7:30am. The procedure is up to an hour but not usually that long. Not sure about recovery time yet. Once they retrieve, Jay will do his "thing" and then they will start fertilization. For the embryos that make it 5 days they will freeze them and store them until my ovaries are ready for insemination. Stay tuned... Thanks for all the well wishes, positive thoughts and prayers. We love you all!

It's been a week of UP's on this rollercoaster of conception!

Good Morning! Today was yet another ultrasound and more bloodwork. My right ovary has a lot of BIG follicles and Dr. Casson said we will be triggering Friday and my egg retrieval procedure will be............. SUNDAY!!!!!!!!! Although I am nervous about this the excitement Jay and I have trumps those feelings! Its been a week of good progress and we couldn't be more happy with the care we continually receive at NRM. OH the other night, no one was around to give me my shots in time so I inadvertently got over my fear of injecting myself!!! The proof is in the picture. (Some may think its weird to post a picture of this but I need these to hold over our child's head later in life when they wanna put me in a nursing home) hehehehe

Be advised... Frequent posting ahead...

So we are getting to the end of IVF cycle #1 and so I will have a lot to update since I am going to NRM just about daily now. This morning I had yet another ultrasound and more bloodwork followed by a check in with Dr. Wonderful! The ultrasound still showed LOTS of follicles around 14mm (they need to get to 18) and blood results are pending; I usually get a call in the afternoon. So we meet with Dr. C and he says although this is taking some time, this is looking like a great cycle! MUSIC TO OUR EARS! BUT… (There is always a “but”)... It looking like you are on your way to getting Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome (OHSS). EEEKKKK! He continues to say that in order to prevent OHSS we aren't going to trigger you with HCG we will use Lupron (ok that’s fine) and instead of putting the embryo right back into your body, we won't be able to do so0 until a month later once the ovaries have calmed down, meaning the embryo’s will be frozen. We were warned of OHSS in our initial consultation but we were like “the percentage of it happening is low, we don't really need to worry about it.” WELL once again our luck curses us. Good thing is that NRM’s freeze rates are high quality and we can prevent OHSS! We have waited this long whats another month! Our health is a priority and I am glad NRM see’s it that way also. SO he mentioned possible extraction THIS WEEKEND!!! Yes I said it, this weekend!!!!! He will confirm as the week goes on. We are thrilled with the progress and hopeful now more than ever!! This is VERY exciting, nerve racking, emotional, ahhh just a bundle of unexplainable emotions!!! Hang on tight, and thanks for being on this ride with us family and friends!!

Anxiously awaiting my appointment this morning...

Well, Nicole from NRM called with the blood results and my estradiol and LH levels rapidly increased which means I am at risk of premature ovulation. She called me and said "Jennifer, we need you to go home and add in the additional injection (cetrotide)and decrease your Menopur and Gonal to 2 vials each... like NOW!" So I cancelled my work training and skedaddled home! This new shot stings a bit after injections and the injection site is sore for a short period of time but nothing that I haven't become used to. I did try to give it myself but again I became nauseous at the thought and said F&$% it... MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Jay wasn't home) I go at 8:15 this morning and expect the news to go one way or the other... cancel or ready or not!! I am hoping for the ready or not of course!!! I don't know if it is all these hormones I am pumping in myself but I am exhausted and can barely stay awake past 8pm! UGH this better all be worth it in the end and then I can get used to the exhaustion right?! :)

It's a GREAT Monday!

In the interest of being cautiously optimistic, this mornings appointment brought great news! Maybe my mom was my lucky charm! :) 2 days ago I had 2 follicles worth measuring... today I had over 10!!! And they are all growing at about the same rate! Finally my ovaries are waking up! Guess they are late bloomers much like myself haha! Maybe we found the magic potion! See my single dosage pic below! HAPPY MONDAY! I go back Wednesday and fingers crossed for even more growth!

Here is a little glimpse inside NRM. Its a comfortable, clean and welcoming place with awesome views. This morning I had ultrasound #1 of 3 for this week. Nothing was really happening with the ovaries which Mel (the tech) said wasn't uncommon with polycystic ovaries. It was a little disappointing but nothing that we haven't experienced before. Hopefully as the week goes on the damn things will start kicking into gear and making lots of follicles!!!

Our "sCARE" package arrived!

We received our box of injections, vaginal inserts, and other 'fun' misc. items on Saturday! Can you say overwhelmed??? Bringing it all to Dr. C Friday so they can go over it all with us. We don't want to mess this up!!! Here is a picture!